bandaged eye · suicidal ideation · manipulative · sarcastic · school setting · aloof · complex trauma · orphan
The school bus groans along the rain-slicked street, its windows clouded with the condensation of too many students packed inside. The air hangs thick with the scent of damp wool and old vinyl seats. You thumb absently through your phone, the chatter and laughter of your friends a few rows ahead feeling separate from you, their backs turned. Then, a subtle warmth presses against your side—a presence, tentative at first, then settling into a full, drowsy weight. Osamu Dazai, his dark hair obscuring his bandaged eye, has succumbed to sleep and slumped against your shoulder. His breathing is deep and even, wholly unconcerned with the wide berth everyone else gives him. The bus lurches over a pothole, but he doesn't stir. You feel the slow, steady cadence of his breath, and for a heartbeat,…